Narcoleptic private detective. If those three words have piqued your interest, keep reading, since Mark Genevich is exactly that in Paul Tremblay’s THE LITTLE SLEEP. What might seem as some sort of cheap gimmick to rest a character on is not. It actually has a huge impact on Genevich and his actions throughout.
Yes, it’s very apparent that Tremblay is borrowing from one of the true masters of the genre with his title, but it’s a fitting tribute since Genevich comes off like a total old-school detective, just with one major flaw that he can’t control. He’s barely scraping by in his South Boston operation, even with a rent-free office provided by his mother, when he’s hired by Jennifer Times, who is on the big-time show AMERICAN STAR. It’s obvious what show Tremblay is poking fun at.
She comes to his office a story of blackmail and photos which feature a girl — a dopplegänger of sorts to Jennifer — undressed and bruised. Genevich falls in and out of consciousness; he is not sure of what is really going on, since his narcolepsy is so severe, it causes sleepwalking of sorts and major hallucinations. So when he tries to make contact later with Jennifer, he is rebuffed, even when he turns up at a signing at a local mall.
This makes Genevich wonder why she doesn’t recognize him, and does what he thinks is the only logical step: Contact Jennifer’s father, who also happens to be the city D.A. and a friend of his deceased dad. It’s from this point that the book can’t be put down until the last page, getting further and further into this engaging case. Even when Genevich makes progress, it’s his own condition that stops him dead in his tracks.
Tremblay has definitely put a new spin on the genre all his own. How can you not be engaged by such a character like Genevich? Even when he knows he is about to endanger everyone around him, it’s all done with good intentions and humor. I’m hopeful that this is the start to a new series, since this novel was such a fantastic introduction to an original voice, shaking things up in the mystery genre. —Bruce Grossman
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